Former San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki settled a lawsuit in which the city of San Francisco alleged he was an unregistered lobbyist who broke
the municipal lobbying law "in every way."

Former San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki settled a lawsuit in which the city of San Francisco alleged he was an unregistered lobbyist who broke
the municipal lobbying law "in every way."

Photo: Courtesy Of Michael Yaki

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The settlement would represent the largest payment in state history to resolve
allegations of unreported lobbying, according toCity Attorney Dennis Herrera's office, which brought the lawsuit over Yaki's efforts on behalf of a specialized firefighter equipment company. less

The settlement would represent the largest payment in state history to resolve
allegations of unreported lobbying, according toCity Attorney Dennis Herrera's office, which brought the lawsuit over Yaki's ... more

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Michael Yaki, a commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights, speaks at a rally supporting Alabama immigrant communities in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, August 17, 2012.

Michael Yaki, a commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights, speaks at a rally supporting Alabama immigrant communities in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, August 17, 2012.

Photo: Tamika Moore, Associated Press

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San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki had things to discuss with Mayor Brown during Sunday's Youth Summit at the Center for the Arts Theater in October 1996.

San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki had things to discuss with Mayor Brown during Sunday's Youth Summit at the Center for the Arts Theater in October 1996.

Photo: Tim Kao, CHRONICLE

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San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki in 1997.

San Francisco Supervisor Michael Yaki in 1997.

Photo: Eric Luse

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Michael Yaki meets the media following his appointment to the SF Board of Supervisors by Mayor Willie Brown in January 1996.

Michael Yaki meets the media following his appointment to the SF Board of Supervisors by Mayor Willie Brown in January 1996.

Photo: Chris Stewart, STAFF

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Michael Yaki

Michael Yaki

Photo: Nancy Wong

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Ex-S.F. Supervisor Yaki to pay $75,000 to head off suit

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Former Supervisor Michael Yaki has agreed to pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit in which the city of San Francisco alleged that the well-known local political figure was an unregistered lobbyist who broke the municipal lobbying law "in every way."

The settlement, which needs to be approved by the city's Ethics Commission and Board of Supervisors, would represent the largest payment in state history to resolve allegations of unreported lobbying, according to City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office, which brought the lawsuit over Yaki's efforts on behalf of a specialized firefighter equipment company.

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"This should send a strong message that the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance has teeth, and that we city officials take seriously our duty to protect transparency in our legislative process," Herrera said.

Stuart Gasner, an attorney for Yaki, wouldn't comment on specifics because the settlement still needs approvals, saying little beyond: "We are satisfied by the terms of the settlement and look forward to its approval."

Backed lobbying rules

San Francisco supervisors, including Yaki himself, voted in 2000 to adopt rules requiring anyone who earns more than $3,000 over three consecutive months trying to influence city officials to register as a lobbyist.

They must also regularly disclose which officials they contact, how much they are paid to do so, by whom and for what purpose. The intent is to let the public now who is paying to influence government decisions.

The law, though, is routinely ignored and enforcement is rare. The Ethics Commission, the watchdog agency for the city's lobbying, campaign finance and similar rules, has dismissed 12 of the 15 complaints for unregistered lobbying since the law took effect, according to commission records.

The other three resulted in settlements with combined fines of $10,750. The lawsuit against Yaki is the first of its kind by the city attorney.

"Like others, I have been concerned with the fact that it appears that our ethics laws were perhaps not being enforced as vigorously and as broadly as they should have," Herrera said.

About three months before Herrera filed his lawsuit on Dec. 4, former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission contending Yaki had illegally lobbied at least six supervisors on behalf of Rescue Air Systems Inc., a San Carlos company that manufactures a patented system firefighters use to refill their air tanks in high-rise buildings.

Company takes hit

At the time, the board was preparing to vote on removing a requirement from the city fire code that new high-rise buildings have that air system installed and instead give developers the option of installing reinforced, fire-resistant elevators.

The board voted unanimously in September to make the change, which will cost Rescue Air, the only known manufacturer of the system.

The city's lawsuit accused Yaki of at least 70 instances of illegal contact with city officials on Rescue Air's behalf. The lawsuit, backed by e-mails and 15 sworn statements from city officials, said Yaki lobbied officials ranging from Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, to Mayor Ed Lee's chief of staff, Steve Kawa, to members of the Board of Supervisors.

Yaki "flouted the lobbyist ordinance in every way" by failing to register as a lobbyist, to disclose whom he was contacting or to reveal who was paying him and how much, Herrera's suit contended.

Yaki, a licensed attorney who runs a consulting firm that bills itself as specializing in "crisis response" and communication, led a team of consultants and lobbyists hired by Rescue Air.

One of those consultants, retired state fire marshal Ruben Grijalva, agreed in a deal with Herrera's office announced Thursday to register as a lobbyist retroactively, file monthly disclosures, pay the $500 registration fee, and complete a city-run lobbyist training course.

Yaki initially said his activity wasn't lobbying because he is an attorney.

"There is an exception within the ordinance allowing attorney representation, and as an attorney I worked within the parameters of the ordinance," Yaki said via e-mail earlier.

The city's lobbying rules do provide an exemption for three types of professionals, including lawyers, when they are "performing a duty or service that can be performed only by an attorney, an architect or a professional engineer."

That is not a blanket lobbying exemption for attorneys, but rather only frees lawyers from the requirements when they are performing a task that only an attorney can do, like being paid to represent someone in court, according to the city attorney's office.

Clarifying the law

Other attorneys say the lobbying law is ambiguous. Herrera and Board of Supervisors PresidentDavid Chiu for months have been drafting a package of ethics reforms that will, among other things, clarify the attorney exemption. It is expected to have its first hearing at a Board of Supervisors committee next week.

Still, what Yaki did for Rescue Air was clearly lobbying, according to the lawsuit, and Yaki never formally contested that in court. Instead, he quickly agreed to an out-of-court settlement that will require him to pay the $75,000 in installments over nine years, documents show.

A lien on a property - its identifying details were redacted from the settlement document - will be used as collateral.

Yaki, who does not admit liability in the settlement, must also register as a lobbyist retroactive to 2012 and report all of his contacts with city officials from that point forward. He had faced a penalty of up to $350,000 if found liable in court for all 70 violations he was accused of.